Railway freight terminal and system.



\ 1. C. RUNNER. RAIL-WAN `FIIIEI'GIIT TERMINAL AND SYSTEM,

APPLICATION FILED M AY I4. 1917. *E Y Patented Oct. I, MIS.

SHEETS-SNEL' I.

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i. C. BONNER.

RAILWAY FREIGHT TERMINAL AND SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAI/.14. m7.

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'1. "0. BONNER. RA'I'LWAY FREIGHT TERMINAL AND SYSTEM.

u I' APPLHLATIONv F'ILED MAY I4, |917. l LQSGLIA. Pil-tema oef, 1, 1918.

MHH; l Mill-.LJ l

I. C. BONNEHI `RAILWAY FREIGHT TERMINAL AND SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4. IQII.

LQJA. vPatented GCI. I, 1918.

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1 II III IIIJ f V V Il, I IIVQITTT cierran ernstes ramena eration,

JOSEPH GLAYAUGH RUNNER, OF TOLED, Ol-HC).

RFT'ILTAY FEEIIGHT TERMINAL AND SYSTEM.

To all wlw/a [t may concern.: v

lie it'knoivn that l, Job-:nml C. loiinna, a citizen ot the llnitcd States, residing at To. ledov` in the county et Lucas and State oi' (lhio, have invented certain new and nset'ul Improvements in Railway Freight Terminals and Systems, oi' which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to railway freight teiminals and systems for simplifying the transfer'ot freight from auto trucks or other v.vehicles to freight cars. In the presentinvention, l employ wheeled vehicles which l term road wagons, in which the freight is loaded for transportation, the road wagons being adapt-cd for mounting on treiglit cars by which they are carried to 'tliddestination ot'- the freight, and there removed' from the car. rlhe combination railroad ear and road wagons forms the subject matter oi' several of my copendingg applications, and for the urpose ot exlplainiirt,lr the present invention, 1t is merely necessary to state that the road vagone are capable of independent travel, being provided with steering; means, and are consti-acted so to permit them to be placed upon freight cars. In this invention, 'l pro-z vide means for handling freight conveyed from the warehouse to the terminal in these road wagons and means for transferring freight to road wagons when it has been conveyed to the terminals in ordinary vehicles, such as the Ordinar f type of ante trucks The invention is also capable ota being need -tor the .purpose et' loading and unloading the freightfrom the present type o freight ears and also in connection with the ordinary type of road vehicles.

` ln the present invention, l have devised a lsystem for handling bulk freight, that is shipments wherein the entire load of ak road wagon or truck or freight car is bound 'tor the same destination, and also a further plan., which cooperates with the system mentioned, tor the purpose ot' handling freight of the broken bulletype, by 1which l mean truck or Wagon loads comprising several dit"- ferent consignmentsto different localities. Broadly the means for carrying1 out my 'invention comprises 'a stationary platform and means for positioning' the wagons to be leaded or unloaded .with respect to said platform.

form is, in some instances, a turntable but ander different conditions 1t may be adria Speeicatien of Letters Patent.

The means employed for posi, tioningthe Wagons with respect. to the platrammen oen i, ieie.

application filed May la, 1917. SeraPNo. 168,577.

able to employ other means for this purpose. Suitable inlets and exit-s are provided to al low `vehicles to pass to and from the space within the platform Without congestion or confusion. The freight isemptied upon the platform and is then transferred to the road Wagons. At the rear of the turntable are a plurality of tracks and switches connecting to a series of tracks arranged on each side ot the turntable, and to a caliglioat arranged in a dock slip at the rear of t'll'e terminal, or to switches connectin; with tracks of the mainlinel railways.

n another embodiment of the invention the turntable is employed, and is provided with circumferential tracks upon which an ordinary freight car ymay be positioned for loading and unloading.

Handling of-freig'ht in the large cities has developed into1 a serious problem, and large numbers of cars are delayed or tied up While waiting to have freight unloaded or to receive new consignments. At dock terminals (and also at landterminals) a great deal of this delay is attributed to the necessity, under present conditions, of unloading the contents of vehicles upon a platform, and conveying the material by hand trucks to' the cars (or vice versa). This distance, in many instances in practice in cities, exceeds 1.000 feet. The platform space being limited, vehicles have to wait for an opportunity to obtain a place at the platform, or space upon Which to nnload,the hauling of freight uponl hand tracks for a considerable distance being necessarily slow.

In the system which I have devised bulk truck loads, which are the major haulage, do not have'to be re-handled at all, and l have materially simpliiied the handling of broken bulk loads, eliminating haulingn of merchandise tor any considerable distance by hand.

The terminals are numbered according to zones or stations to which the consignments are being 4sent and the trucks deliver the materials to the terminal corresponding in number tothe zone er station in which the place of destination is located.

ln` carrying),` out this invention I provide a` turnable or moving platform placed near the center ot the freight terminal, and a stationary platform arranged Within'the turn'- table. The ends of the platform are spaced p from each other to ltorni entrances and exits for trucks 0r road wagons carrying broken.

4and discharging tracks. Athe turn table 1s eliminated and the Wag-'ins upon the platform, and transferred from. the platform to the road wagons upon the turntable. A passage is provided to permit the trucks to leave the terminal in an orderly manner. At the rear of the turntable, o' at any other point, a number of intersectingl tracks and switches are arranged connecting.

to a series of parallel tracks or switches `upon each side oiE the turntable, and to tracks leading to the car l'loat, ii' it is' a dock terminal, or to the main tracks iu the case of a. land terminal. The two series of parallel tracks are also connected with the main tracks, and are for the storage of freight" cars carrying road wagons having consiga-- ments of bulk freight, one series handling outgoing loads, the other being a receiving station for bulk loads. An entrance to the terminal leads to each of the bulli receiving In some instances which receive the freight are suitably positioned about the platform. The wagons may be conveyed to their positions by means by a dinky engine or other suitable apparatus.

In the drawings I- have shown, more or less diagrammatically,l several embodiments of this invention, certain parts ot' which are omitted for .clarity of presentation. In this showing Figure 1 is a. plan view of the improved terminal;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view ofthe terminal shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 is a similar view of still another embodiment.

The turntable 1 is placed Within the 'terminal and arranged within the same is a stationary platform 2. The turntable is of tracks i the ordinary type and is driven by any suitf able means. At the front of y,the building entrances 3 are )rovided leading to a bridge or arch 4 in t e flooring of the building which extends over the turntable and communicates with an opening 5 in a stationary platform. A lift or elevator' (not shown) niay be employed instead of the bridge 4. 1Within the platform there. are arranged ay plurality of partitions (i, forming driveway 6', which serves as an exit.

At one .side ofthe building l arrange a series of storage tracks 7 provided with means, such as the alining switch .il described in my copending application Serial No. 158.878, tiled Mar. 31, 1917, for facilitating the storage and loading of rail wagons upon freight cars. At the opposite side oli-the building I provide arsecond. series of storage tracks 9. Entrances 10 and 11 at the front 'of the build-ing communicate with the storage P and l). respectively. The main tracks of the railroad or the car float (as medina the case may be) are indicated at 12 and are connected to the turntable by a series of connecting tracks 13. A second series of connecting tracks 1l areprovided for mnnecting the storage tracks 7 and tbc rar Heat 12, and a similar set of tracks 'l5 conynectsthe storage. tracks l) and car fioat.

Switches 16, placed in any desired positions, eonbnecttbe adjacent storage tracks, and also connect with the turntable at any desired point. y

ln` the embodiment shown in Fig`7 Bof drawings, the invention is adapted to be employed in connection with ordinary freight cars and the turntable is provided with circumferential tracks 17 upon which the freight car is run from the tracks (13) by means of switches 18. lf desired, a second turntable 19 may be placed within the stationary platform.

ln the embodin'icnt shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the turntable is eliminated and the space 2O surrounding the platform is divided by walls or'partitions 21 forming the stalls The operation of the 'embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and Q is followsz-With reference to bulk loads carried by road wagons, the wagon enters the terminal at the entrance 1() and lined upon one of the switches 8 and transferred to a freight can arranged upon the tracks 7. When a suitable number of carshave been loaded with road wagons or made up to form a train, the cars aie transferred to the main tracks by means of the connecting tracks 14 and the. train is carried to its destination. Whenl a freight car enters the terminal it is carried over the tracks 15 to the storage tracks 9 which are employed as a discharge terminal. Any road wagons containing consigninents for one destination are unloaded and passed from the terminal by means of the exit 11. t

When the load of the road wagons is of the broken bulk type7 or'when the merchandise is loaded in any other type of vehicle, the vehicle enters the terminal through one ofthe entrances 3 passingrover the bridge or clearance L1 and through the opening 5 into the center of the stationary platform.. When an elevator or lift is einployed in place of bridge 4, the outgoing and incoming wagons are lifted over the turntable. The bridge and elevatorY may both be elim inated and a clearance space maintained at the front of the turntable by proper positioning of the road wagons. The platform is divided into spaces designating different points of consignment and the vehicle un loads its merchandise at the proper points. A number of road wagons are placed upon the turntable and the freight. is transferred from the stationary platform to the road wagons. The tinfntable is revolved at inlll 1.22309 Mali tei-,vals and loaded road wagons are removed on the tracks `l and carried on the tracks 14 to the storage tracks '7 by means of a dinky engine or other suitable power appliance and are there loaded on freight cara t be carried to their destination. lllhen the road wagons stored upon trac-ks 9 contain di'erent consignments of freight, similar means are employed for transferring the rail Wagons to the turntable l by tracks 13 and 15. Thefreight can then be easily uuloaded upon the stationary plattorm and the trucks or other vehicles enter ing the in'- closure receive the freight and carry it to its proper destination, -or such freight-iuayA .be reloaded onto road wagons that are on the turntables. l

The partitions 6 ari-angl y within the sta- 'tionary platform forni an exit through which the vehicles pass in leaving the building. The vehicles drive in on either eide ol' the exit and when the contents have been transtei-red to the stationary table they drive to the rear and pass out.

. The operation of the form shown in Fim '3 of the drawings is very similar to that just described. The storage tacks and con- -necting tracks are used for the same purpose,

and the freight car is driven onto the tum table 1, upon the track l? by means ot switches 18. ln the ordinarytype of freight i car having a Side door, the. opening will then face the. platform/2 and merchandise is removed and placed upon the platform. The vehicles which are 'to convey the merchandise to its destination enter the central space within the platform froinbridge fl and the merchandise ie transferred trom the plat.- form to the vehicles. ln ,some inetaneee th? road wagons to receive the imrchandisc are placed upon the second turntable lll, upon which they can be revolved to receive dillerent coneigmnentsI loaded at different points on the platform. 'lhc turntable l?) may he employed iindereome conditions. or it may be dispensed. with.

The ope 'ation of the embodiment Shown 'in Fig. 4, in which the turntable is not ein-- ployed. ie similar to the, operation ot' the other forms. the road wagons being positioned within the stalls 2:2 to receive the 'freieilit from the )latform and are moved from these stalls b v means of (link v engines or other typen ot motor to the atorafa'e traeka. '/lln the claims wherever the phrase .main tracks is employed. it is used to designate either the main trai-kot' a land terminal or the car float which enters a dork Slip ot' a Water terminal. t is to be `underetood that .when a. car float of this character has received a number ol freight carsitis removed from the dock slip andreplaced by another, the'tirst car float t-hen passing; to other terminale upon ktheriver Where the care are untionary platform. means for pi'isitioningi` vehicles; with respect thereto. storage tineke arranged near said plattform and conne :ting tracks between the atei-age trackrs and the veicle positioning means.

3. ln a. System for handling' freight, in

combination. main tracks oll a railroad, a'

stationary platlinm, means lor positioning;l vehicles with respect to aid plattform, and a plurality ot connecting tracks,l between said vehicle positioningn means and. the main tracks, whereby vehicles may be moved upon said main tracks from i plurality olf points on said vehicle positioning means.

il.. A railway terminal comprising a movable platlornl. a Stationary platform adjacent the movable platform. a Series ot atoragre tracks, and tracks conncctinfuT the movable platlorm and storage t acka A railway termin-.il comprising` a movable platform. a Stationary platform adjacent. the n'iovahlc platform. a main series of tracks entering the terminal. and a serien oi't" .niterscctiine` tracks and ewitche-i connecting the movable platform with the main tracks of the railroad.

l5. in a. system for handling freight. in

ltlll combination. a railroad track, storage tracks i for receiving freigijht and storage trarke` lor discharging freight, and a plurality ol tracks and switchee connecting :aaid storage 'tracka to the main tracli'a.

l. ln a system for handling' freight. in combination. main tracks-i ot' u railroad. a stationary platform. a movable platform an'd tracks connecting' the movalfile platform to thelv main tracks.

S. ln a system 'for handling freight. in coinbii'iation, main tracks olt a railroad, 'a turntable, a htationary platter-ia within the turntable and ti'ickel connecting the turntable with the main tracks'.

1).,ln a system for handling freight, a turntable, a stationary platl'orin within the turntable. a Series of storage tracks arranged turntable, a stationary.platter-m. a series, oli 1:25 receivniflP tracks, a series ot discnarge tracks and tracks connecting the receiving tracks and discharge tracketo the turntable.

il. ln a system for handling' freight. in

.loaded u on the tracks' ot the railroad or cornl'iination'with the main tracks; oli a rail-l 13 road, a, turntable, a stationary lplatform Within the turntable, storage tracks arranged upon each side of the turntable, .a series of tracks connecting said storage tracks to the turntable, and a series of tracks connecting the storage tracks to the main tracks.

12. In a system for handling lfreight, in combination with the main tracks` of a raifroad, a turntable. a stationary platforin within the turntable, a series of storage tracks arranged upon each sido of the turntable, 'a Sries of tracks connecting said storage tracks to the turntable and a series of tracks connecting the turntable to the main tracks.

13. In a system for handling freight, in

' combination with the main tracks of a railroad, a turntable, a stationary `platform within lthe turntable, a series of storage tracks arranged upon each, side of tbe turntable. a series of tracks connecting said storage' tracks to the turntable, a series of tracks connecting the turntable to the main tracks and a series of tracks connecting the storage tracks to the main tracks.

14. A freight terminal comprising a turntable, a stationary platform Within the turntable, partitions within the turntable forming passages for the entrance and exit of vehicles.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

JOSEPH CLAYBUGH BONNER. 

